Reed is 24 years old and has been very good for the majority of this, his 2nd full season in the Major Leagues (and first as full-time closer). I understand that to some of you, the idea that a player might need a learning curve in the Majors is unacceptable, but it is what it is.

And if he's not the answer, the Sox have plenty of good young pitching. There are so many other problems with this roster to worry about first.

I totally agree with this. And the fact is, Reed hasn't lost velocity. He has been struggling with location. When he was getting consistent work, he was saving games easily without a loss in velocity. It seems the definition of a pitcher's slump.

This doesn't appear to be the same situation as Sergio Santos who seemed to simply not have enough to get through the season even in his second full season.

I think Reed might be a better pitcher for the experience, at least I hope he will. There are pretty good closers who have had inconsistent seasons. Reed isn't the reason this White Sox team has underachieved, and gaining experience on an underachieving team isn't such a bad thing. I think Jones has the best stuff on the staff, despite an inconsistent sophomore season. He might make a fine closer. But it's rather unusual for a last-place team to be going with the same closer in September that it has been going with since opening day if the closer isn't part of future plans.

This thread feels like an overreaction. But fans do that. Before the trade deadline, there was a school of thought (maybe it was limited in its source and just repeated) that Reed had a higher trade value than Sale.

I have no problem with Reed as a closer. Yes, he has blown chow lately. He ran out of gas in September last year as well. Career-wise, September is by far his worst month. That would be my main concern about Reed going into next season. The Sox need to find a way to keep him strong throughout the entire year.

Sale and Quintana were out of gas in September last year. This year, both men are finishing up strong. The club needs Reed to take that same step as a closer as well. He's only 24. Only a fool would give up on him now. And regardless, as a matter of philosophy, I'm generally against spending big bucks on closers. There are so many greater problems on this team. Hell, the Sox basically need to rebuild the entire middle of the order at this point.

Not really. With a poor to mediocre offense and a starting staff that can hold teams down, a bullpen, specifically closer position is critical. If you're fine with an inconsistent closer with 2 ****** Septembers in row, so be it. I'd be hard pressed to remember the last 1-2-3 inning I've watched Reed pitch, and to me that's unacceptable, even for a closer-in-training

I totally agree with this. And the fact is, Reed hasn't lost velocity.

I disagree with this. During his recent struggles, Reed's velocity has been topping out at 91mph. (which was the case last night) As recently as August, he was hitting 93-94mph pretty regularly. I do agree that he has also struggled with command as well but I think he is also battling a little bit of "dead arm" right now. A previous poster mentioned the six appearances in six days. Perhaps that was a test of his conditioning because he has scuffled since that stretch. I agree with JB98 that he should be put on the same arm conditioning program that Quintana and Sale used last offseason. He seems to wear down over the course of the season.

__________________
The very existence of flamethrowers proves that some time, somewhere, someone said to themselves, "You know, I want to set those people over there on fire, but I'm just not close enough to get the job done." -George Carlin

Coming into the 2005 season, Shingo seemed solid. In September 2005, he had five saves, a win and a loss and didn't have a blown save after August 7. In September 2005, in a Mets uniform, he didn't save any and blew two.

There are people who tell you with extreme hindsight that watching Shingo's stuff and not his stats, they could tell he wasn't going to last long as a closer. Looking at Reed's stuff, without the benefit of hindsight, I think he has better seasons as a closer in store for him. I don't see a loss in velocity. I don't see a loss in confidence. I do see that he is having control issues.

Yours might be, but my idea of entertainment is not to spend $$$ at a ball game to watch some guy learn his craft. Thank God your philosophy does not apply to the real world. We'd have rookie pilots flying 747's, drivers in training behind the wheel of semi's and 4th medical students performing .

In the case of the Sox, it doesn't matter. They won't be competing for a while anyway. Reeds performance screams inconsistency. I believe he's had enough time at the ML level to figure it out.

This might be top 10 most moronic posts in WSI history.

__________________Joe Flacco Super Bowl 47 Champion and MVPJoe Flacco First Rookie QB to win 2 games in his first playoff.

Closer's not a high priority. we just need a few more bullpen arms. Jones and Reed were worked a lot this year because of lack of any depth, especially after Crain went down. And we had a bad back of the pen all season.

Two years ago, if somebody made this thread, would anyone have suggested Reed as a closer for 2012? Nobody would have, yet he did a fine job that year.

The reality is, closing isn't as difficult as it's hyped up to be. Many decent relief pitchers can close. If Reed continues to struggle, I'm sure the Sox can find somebody else to give a shot: either somebody already in the bullpen, a free agent/non-roster invitee we pick up next spring, or perhaps somebody who's already in our farm system.

__________________"Hope...may be indulged in by those who have abundant resources...but its nature is to be extravagant, and those who go so far as to stake their all upon the venture see it in its true colors only when they are ruined."-- Thucydides